One of the things that really amuses me in NSW is that (with the exception of clearways) it's illegal to tow a car without the owner's permission - essentially making any carpark with public access a free for all (so signs like "tow away zone" and "Customer parking only" are completely irrelevant.

According to NZTA,"Opting-out means that a person with an authorisation must specifically request the individual's name and address from the Transport Agency. The Transport Agency will then weigh up the public interest in releasing the individual's details against their privacy." As seen here: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/ho...r-information/

Basically, it makes it much harder for companies to be able to get information just based on the registration of the vehicle (if not impossible).

So essentially you could get off scott free? Because they have to request information and with only your number plate they won't get very far?

I had a colleague a few years ago return to a carpark to find his car about to be towed by a tow truck. My friend asked him what he needed to do to get it back and the guy said if he gave him $120 cash right then that he wouldn't take the vehicle

He didn't have that amount of cash on him and offered to go to an ATM, or to drop into their office and pay the full $120, at which point the truck driver got all dicey and said "Oh nah don't go in there, just give me whatever you have in cash", which was about $60.

We rang the tow company on Monday morning and spoke to their manager and asked if it was normal business practice for his truck drivers to negotiate for cash payments. The driver ended up being dismissed for extorting customers.

I got my car towed once from a car park and it cost me about $200 to get the thing released. I was young at the time, these days I'd dispute it. I question the legality of stealing someones car and locking it up but I'm not a lawyer.

I read it differently, rather than accessing it through whatever system they have, they need to ask the transport agency who will evaluate and decide if they will give it our or not.

That is correct, Wilson/PES would need to make written request for your details, however it will be assessed by NZTA whether or not it will be released to them.

"Opting-out means that a person with an authorisation must specifically request the individual's name and address from the Transport Agency. The Transport Agency will then weigh up the public interest in releasing the individual's details against their privacy." - https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/how-the-motor-vehicle-register-affects-you/who-can-access-register-information/

You could argue that your information is not in the public interest, being a civil matter, therefore should not be released to Wilson/PES for the collection of disputed punitive fees.

Yes they can as it is not in dispute as far as they are concerned. From a legal perspective it almost certainly isn't either and you would be highly likely to lose if it did go to the disputes tribunal (not that it will). All the large players in parking enforcement post 2012 have a cost justification model for their fees so that part is easily proved (The fees all used to be much higher). And the signage is extremely clear in most of the major sites within the Auckland CBD so an enforceable contract is easily proven. Your one saving grace is that it probably falls outside of the criteria for further action simply due to the small balance involved. Claiming you have 'successfully' avoided the fees is pretty debatable given doing absolutely nothing would have resulted in exactly the same outcome for you lol (but with a lot less effort expended).

Nice post OP, I think the best way to sum it up quickly to everyone is that any particular parking situation in this regard is a CONTRACT LAW dispute, nothing else. in Contract Law, it is illegal for a private company to issue a penalty (in this regard, fine). Remember this when you try and dispute other forms of parking fines other than private companies, for example, If Auckland Transport issue a parking fine, it is completely enforceable and gg trying to get out of that one.

Nice post OP, I think the best way to sum it up quickly to everyone is that any particular parking situation in this regard is a CONTRACT LAW dispute, nothing else. in Contract Law, it is illegal for a private company to issue a penalty (in this regard, fine). Remember this when you try and dispute other forms of parking fines other than private companies, for example, If Auckland Transport issue a parking fine, it is completely enforceable and gg trying to get out of that one.

Civil cases can award punitive damages. They are heavily outlawed from Contract Law however.

Completely wrong again. This has nothing to do with a fine, it is a contractual fee. Charges and fees are fully enforceable under contract law as long as the fee is justified. In this case PES can rely on their standard fee justification model and their clearly displayed entry conditions which do constitute a contract on entry. OP is in exactly the same position he would have been in if he had simply not responded in any way, shape or form. In fact he is in worse position because he took up plenty of his own time, so simply doing nothing would have actually been the better option.